Clinch nut press



Aug. 24, 1943" w. D. CHILTON 2,327,401

CLINCH NUT PRESS Filed'Dec. 22, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet l Snventor 1% 1fzzxmzzmzzzpzz I at I I V attornegs 1943.. W. D. CHHLTON 2,327,41

CLINCH NUT PRESS Filed Dec. 22, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet. 2

ZSnnentor Gttornegs Aug. 24, 1943.

W. D. CHILTON CLINGH NUT PRESS Filed Dec. 22, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Aug;2%,, 1943. w. D. CHILTON CLINCH NUT PRESS Filed Dec. 22, 1941 5Sheets-Sheet 4 FT? 25 9 a Aug 24, 1943. w. D. CHILTON CLINCH NUT PRESSFiled Dec. 22, I941 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 gym r Zhwentor amzzmflmzzzmCittornegs Patented Aug. 24, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLINCH NUTPRESS William D. Chilton, Royal Oak, Mich., assignor to General MotorsCorporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationDecember 22, 1941, Serial No. 424,093

4 Claims.

This invention relates to presses of the type which are employed tosecure clinch nuts in apertures formed in sheet metal plates or othermembers, portions of the nuts being adapted to be inserted through theapertures and being bent over or deformed thereafter by the press to secure the nuts to the plate.

When the clinch nuts are manufactured, they are usually discharged fromthe machines on which they are made into containers in which they aretransported to the point where they are to be secured to the plates orother members they are to be utilized with. They are not arranged in anyparticular position in the containers, but instead are mixed up invarious positions so that before they may be fed into a press or othermachine which is to secure them in place, they must be arranged so thatthey will all be in a predetermined position, in which position theywill fit properly into the apertures in the plates so that they may besecured therein by the press.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a press of thistype wherein a container of the clinch nuts, in the mixed condition inwhich they come from the point of manufacture, may be placed in a hopperlocated at the top of the press, and as the press is operated, rotationof the hopper carries some of the nuts up to a position wherein they maydrop down on top of a member on which they become caught and on whichthey are free to slide downwardly through a chute which conveys them tothe point in the press where they are to be inserted into the aperturesin the plate they are to be secured to. All of the nuts which areadmitted to the chute are in the same position, which position is thecorrect one to permit them to be inserted properly into the apertures inthe plate. Such nuts as do not drop down in the correct position to getcaught on the member after being carried up by the hopper, simply fallback into the lower portion of the hopper and are carried up to the topof the hopper again and again until they do get in the right position topermit them to become caught on the member as they drop downwardly.Means are provided adjacent the point where the nuts enter the chute todislodge any nuts which might have become caught in an incorrectposition on the member or on top of nuts which are sliding down themember into the chute, the dislodged nuts falling back into the lowerportion of the hopper.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent uponreference to the following description and accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a clinch nut press embodying myinvention;

.lfiange 30 on the shaft by bolts 40.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the hopper, taken on the line 3-3 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the hopper, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view, on a larger scale. of the portion of thepress where the clinch nuts are fed to the member they are to be mountedin and where they are secured in place therein by the press;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fi 5;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 'i-'l of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on th line 8-8 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 99 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view, with portions broken away, showing howthe clinch nut fits into the member it is to be secured in; and,

Fig.11 is a ectional view through the clinch nut and the member it issecured to, also showing another member fastened thereto by a screwwhich is threaded into the clinch nut.

The reference numeral l0 indicates the frame of a press, at the upperend of which is located a platform [2, and I4 is an electric motorsupported thereon. A pinion l6 mounted on the motor shaft drives a ringgear I8 secured to crankshaft 20, and rotation of this shaft causes thereciprocating member 22, which is located between the guides 24, to movup and down in the usual manner, to perform an operation to be laterdescribed.

Supported on the platform 12 is a bracket 26 within which a shaft 28,having a flange 30 formed at its upper end, is rotatably supported in aninclined position with respect to the platform. The bracket carries arms32 to which an inwardly extending flange 34 on a cylindrical member 36is welded or'otherwise secured. A plate 38, which is adapted to rotatewith respect to the cylindrical member, is connected to the Keyed to thelower end of the shaft 28 is a bevel gear 42 which meshes with bevelgear 44 secured on one end of short shaft 46 which is journalled in abracket 48 supported on the platform l2. Mounted on the other end of theshaft 46 is a bevel gear 50 which is adapted to be driven by bevel gear52 which is secured on one end of shaft 54, the other end of this shaftcarrying a pulley 56, and the shaft being rotatably supported inbrackets 58 mounted on the platform l2. A V-belt 60 fitting into agroove in the pulley and one formed in the outer end of the crankshaft20 serves to drive the shaft 54 whenever the motor I4 is being operated,and through the intermediate gearing the shaft 28 is driven to causerotation of the plate 38.

The stationary cylindrical member 36 and the rotating plate 38 togetherform a hopper which is adapted to receive a supply of clinch nuts of thetype shown in Fig. 10, which clinch nuts are formed of sheet metal andcomprise a flat body portion 62, from which a tubular shank 64 adaptedto be threaded is drawn, and projections 66 which are bent upwardly fromthe body portion. As shown in Fig.- 11, after the projections have beenpassed through an aperture 68 in a supporting plate Ill, they are bentover into contact with the upper face of the plate, the body portion 62bearing against the lower face thereof. This firmly secures the clinchnut in place in the aperture in the supporting plate, and as shownanother plate I2 or other member may be attached to the plate 10 bymeans of the screw I4 which is threaded into the shank 64.

The clinch nuts come from the point of manufacture in containers holdinga relatively large quantity of the nuts, which are in various positionstherein, and it is the purpose of the hopper and associated structure toarrange the clinch nuts so that they will all be in the same position inorder that they may be fed into the press in proper position to permitthem to be secured to the supporting plate I0. Therefore a containerfull of the clinch nuts is emptied into the hopper and since the axis ofthe latter is inclined, the clinch nut collect in the lower side'thereof, as shown in Fig. 3, only a few of the nuts being shown forsimplicity of illustration, it being understood that a relatively largequantityof the nuts will be placed in the hopper at a time, and it isfor this reason that the lower part of the cylindrical member is made ofgreater depth than the upper part, as shown in Fig, 3.

Secured to the upper face of the plate 38 adjacent the outer edgethereof are a plurality of equally spaced fins I6, each of whichcarries, when the plate is rotated, a few of the clinch nuts up to thetop of the hopper. When each fin reaches the top, the clinch nuts it hascarried up slide oil it and drop downwardly onto a stationary blade I8,which is of the shape shown in Fig. 4 and which is supported in theposition shown by brackets 88 and 8| connected to the cylindrical member36. The blade I8 has an upwardly extending flange 82 formed on the edgewhich is adjacent the center of the hopper, and in the corner formed bythe blade and the flange, a rod 84 which is square in cross-sectionalshape is secured by welding or in any other suitable manner. As shown inFigs. 3 and 4, this rod is secured in such position that one cornerthereof bears against the blade while another corner bears against theflange. This is so that as the clinch nuts drop away from the fins whichhave carried them up to the top of the hopper and slide downwardly overthe upper face of the blade, a certain percentage of them will be insuch position when they reach the rod 84 that the projections 86 on themwill catch on and drop down over the sides of'the rod, as'shown in Fig.3, in which position the clinch nuts are free to slide longitudinally onthe rod since the latter is inclined downwardly. The flange 82 tends toprevent clinch nuts which are in proper position when reaching the rodfrom falling off of the rod until the projections 66 have slipped overthe sides thereof. Of course, many of the clinch nuts falling downwardlyaway from the fins will not be in such position when they reach the rodas to permit them to be caught thereon, and such nuts will fall over thetop of the flange 82 and will drop into the lower portion of the hopperto be carried up again by the fins to the top of the hopper. Eventuallyall of the clinch nuts which have been placed in the hopper will becaught on the rod, so that there is a continuous column of the clinchnuts sliding downwardly thereon. The rod 84 extends out of the hopperthrough an opening 86 formed in the cylindrical member, 81 being abracket secured in the lower part of the opening, which bracket supportsthe outer end of the rod.

Occasionally one of the clinch nuts falling downwardly from the top ofthe hopper gets caught in an incorrect position on the rod or in aposition on top of the column of nuts sliding downwardly on the rod, andto dislodge such nuts before they may leave the hopper, the followingmechanism is provided. As best shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 9, a bracket 88is welded or otherwise secured to the inner surface of the cylindricalmember 36 adjacent the opening 86.

of the plate.

98 is a plunger slidably mounted in a bushing 92 which is clamped to thebracket by a plate 94 secured in position by screws 98. The plunger hasa head 98 formed on it, and a compression spring I00 abutting againstthis head and against the bushing 92 serves to normally hold the plungerin the position shown in Fig. 9. The bracket has a slot I02 formed in itadjacent the opposite end of the plunger, and a member I84 is pivotallysupported in this slot by a pin I06 which extends through the member andfits into the bracket. The member I84 is received in a slot in theplunger and is connected thereto by a pin I98 which extends through aslotted opening III) in the member I04. At the other end of the latter,a projection H2 is welded, and normally this projection bears upwardlyagainst the lower edge of the plate 94, as shown in Fig. 9.

H4 is a support which is welded or otherwise secured to the cylindricalmember beneath the bracket 88, and H6 is a rod which extends throughthis support and through the bracket. Secured on the upper end of therod by a nut I I8 threaded on the rod is a lever I29, one end of whichbears against a compression spring I22 held in a U-shaped strap I24, andthe other end of which is held against the head 98 of the plunger. Atits lower end, the rod Il6 has a pin I26 secured in it, and this pinprojects outwardly therefrom at such an angle that it is adapted to beengaged by a stud I28 which is secured in and extends upwardly from theplate 38, such engagement taking place once for each revolution As thestud engages the pin I26,

I it moves the latter outwardly, thereby rotating the rod I I6 aridswinging the lever I29 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig.4. This causes the spring I22 to become compressed between the lever andthe strap I24, andas soon as the stud has moved on past, the pin I26,the spring I22 serves to snap the lever in a clockwise direction, andduring such movement, it cngages the head 98 of the plunger, strikingthe latter a rather sharp blow, which causes the plunger to move rapidlytoward the left, as viewed in Fig. 9. This results in the member I04being swung about its pivot I06, thereby swinging the projection II2downwardly momentarily to a position wherein it will lie just above theupper ends of the clinch nuts which are sliding down the rod 84, and ifthere are any nuts which have become lodged in the wrong position on therod or are caught on top of other clinch nuts sliding down the rod, theywill be engaged by the projection H2 and will be dislodged so that theymay fall downwardly into the lower portion of the hopper. The spring Iserves to return the plunger and the lever to normal posit'on again, sothat when the plate 38 makes another revolution, the stud I28 will againengage the pin I26 to repeat the cycle of operation just described.

After the clinch nuts leave the hopper on the rod 84, they enter a chutedesignated generally by the numeral I30, which chute is shown incross-section in Figs. 7 and 8, and which is made up of a square rodI32, a plate I34, spacers I36 and strips I38 and I40. The rod I32 is ofthe same size and shape as the rod 84 and forms a continuation thereof.and the clinch nuts when leaving the hopper fit over it in the samemanner as they fit over the rod 84. The rod I32 is secured to the plateby countersunk rivets I42, while the strips I38 and I40 are securedthereto by rivets I45 which pass through the spacers I35.

I At its upper end where it is connected to the hopper, the chute is insuch position that the plate I34 is on the bottom with the rod I32secured to its upper face, so that the base portion 62 of the clinchnuts rests on top of the rod with the projections 66 extendingdownwardly over the sides of the rod. Since it is desired to have theclinch nuts be in the opposite position, i. e., with the flangesextending upwardly, when the nuts are fed into the clinching portions ofthe machine, the chute is twisted downwardly in such manner that it willbeturned upside down, so that when it approaches a horizontal positionadjacent the table I44 of the press, the plate I34 will be at the top ofthe chute with the rod I 32 hanging downwardly therefrom. At this point,the clinch nuts are supported by the strips I38 and I40, the baseportion 62 of the nuts resting on top of the strips, and the projections66 extending upwardly straddling the rod I32 to guide the nuts in theirpassage through the chute, as shown in Fig. 8.

Referring to Figs. and '7, a pair of brackets I46 are secured to thetable I44, and these brackets have pointed set screws I48 extendingthrough them, the points projecting into depressions formed on lugs I50welded to opposite v sides of the chute. port for the chute at thispoint, so that the portionwhich extends to the right as shown in 1 Fig.5 may move upwardly or downwardly a limited amount about this pivotpoint, for a purpose to be presently described.

Mounted on the table I44 is a guide I52 to which a stationary anvil I54is secured by screws I56. Slidably supported in the guide is a movableanvil I58, there being pins I secured in the anvil'l54, which pinsextend through openings formed in the anvil I58. A compression springI62 surrounds each of the p ns I60, lying in a counterbore formed ineach of the anvils, the purpose of the springs being to normally urgethe anvil I58 away from the anvil I54 so that it will be spaced a slightdistance away therefrom, as shown in Fig. 6., a I

' Located between spaced lugs I64 on the guide I52 and pivotallyconnected thereto by a pin I66 is a lever I68 which extends downwardlybeneath the table I44 and which has its lower end connected by a linkI10 to the armature I12 of a solenoid I14. A hardened pin I16 se- Thisprovides a pivotal supcured in the lever Just below the pivot pin I66bears against the anvil I58, and it will be seen that as the solenoid isenergized, the lower end of the lever will be pulled to the right, asviewed in Fig. 6, and since the hardened pin I16 bears against the anvilI58, the latter will be moved toward the stationary anvil I54.

As stated above, the lower end of the chute is free to pivot about thepoint I48. It is normally supported in the position shown in Fig. 5 by acompression spring I18 which surrounds a rod I extending downwardlythrough an opening in the table I44 to a point below the latter. Theupper end of the rod I80 is connected by a pin I82 to 2. lug I84 weldedto the underside of the chute, and the lower end of the spring I18 bearsagainst the table I44 while the upper end bears against the lug I84 tourge the chute upwardly, the upward movement being limited by theengagement of a nut I86, threaded on the rod, with the under side of thetable.

The chute is of course full of clinch nuts, and when it is in theposition shown in Fig. 5, the clinch nut held at the end of the chute isin line with the tops of the anvils, and is forced by the weight of thecolumn of nuts behind it out into recesses I 88 and I90 formed in theupper portions of the anvils 154 and I58 respectively, these recessesbeing shaped to conform to the shape of the. clinch nut, as shown inFig. 6.

Referring now to Fig. 5, secured to the upper surface of the chuteadjacent the end thereof I is a member I92, and when the plate 10 thatthe clinch nuts are to be secured in is rested on top of the member I92;the weight of the plate causes the chute to pivot about the point I48and to be forced downwardly against the compression of the spring I18.This movement causes the rod I80 to be moved downwardly and results in aprojection I94, secured to the lower end of the rod, engaging an arm I96of a switch I98 which is supported on a bracket 200 mounted on a brace202. This closes an electric circuit which energizes the solenoid I14,with-the result that through the lever I68 the anvil I58 is moved towardthe anvil I54, so that the clinch nut located in the openings I88 andI90 in the upper ends of the anvils is clamped between the two, and istherefore held firmlyin position while the plate 10 ismovecl down overit so that the projections 66 on the clinch nut may enter the aperture68 in the plate. The solenoid I14, lever I68, rod I80, switch I98 andassociated parts are all enclosed ina housing 204 which ilsaiuspendedfrom the lower surface of the table It will be noted that the clampingand holding action of the anvils takes place as soon as the end of thechute starts to move downwardly,

so that before the plate can come into contact with the clinch nut, thelatter will be firmly held. This is necessary because the plates thatthe clinch nuts are to be assembled to are usually relativelv large andheavy and consequently are rather difficult to handle, while the clinchnuts are small and light and thereforemi ht be easily displaced in theanvils so that they wolildjnot fit correctly into the apertures in thepla e.

The reciprocating member 22 has an extension 206 secured to it, andmounted in this extension is a tool 208 which is adapted to engage theupstanding projections 66 on the clinch nuts after they have beeninserted into the openings ln the plate and to clinch them over into theposition shown in Fig. 11. To perform this operation, the foot pedal 2H]is depressed and through the rod 2l2 the c1utch 2I4 is engaged. to causerotation of the crankshaft 20, resulting in downward movement of themember 22. This of course causes the tool. 208 to be forced downwardlybending over the projections 66 on the clinch nut, the latter beingfirmly held before and during this operation as previously described.

As soon as the projections onthe clinch nut have been bent over, it isdesired to release the clinch nut from the anvils in order that theplate Ill, to which the clinch nut is now attached, may be moved on tothe next position. To accomplish this, a cam 2 I6 is secured to one endof the crankshaft, and lobe M8 on this cam is adapted to engage a roller220 held in an arm 222 of a switch 224 immediately after the tool 208has reached its lowermost position. This opens the electric circuitleading to the solenoid I14, with the result that the clamping action ofthe anvils is released, and thereupon the clinch nut which was heldtherein but which has now been attached to the plate, may be lifted outof the anvils. After the lobe 2! has passed beyond the roller 220, thearm 222 returns to its normal position closing the circuit so that thesolenoid may be energized again as soon as the chute has been depressedslightly by the weight of the plate 10, in order that the next clinchnut, which by this time has been pushed out of the chute into therecesses in the anvils, may be held between them in the same manner.

Since there are a great many of the clinch nuts'sliding downwardly inthe chute, the combined weight of them is considerable, and in order tohold them back while the clinching operation is being performed, thefollowing mechanism is provided. As shown in Fig. 5,

a bracket 226 is secured to the underside of the chute, and a lever 228is connected to this bracket by a pin 230. A yoke 232 is attached to theintermediate portion of the lever by pin 234. and a rod 236 threadedinto the yoke extends downwardly through a hole in the table I44, therebeing a compression spring 238 surrounding the rod between the table andthe yoke. As soon as the chute is depressed the slightest amount by theweight of the plate 10, the end of the lever 228 which is connected tothe bracket 226 will be forced downwardly, and since downward movementof the yoke 232 is yieldingly resisted by the spring 238, the lever willfulcrum about the pin 234 as a pivot point, this causing the end 240 ofthe lever to swing upwardly until it engages the lower ends of thetubular shank 64 of the clinch nuts immediately above it in the chute.This holds the engaged clinch nuts in position in the chute and preventsthem from being pushed along in the chute by the weight of the column ofclinch nuts behind and above them in the chute, which movement ifpermitted might interfere with the feeding of a single clinch nut at atime into proper position in the anvils. I

While I have disclosed a particular form of device embodying theinvention, it will be understood that various changes may be made in thedetails of construction or operation of the device without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the appended claims,

remove any articles which may have become caught in an incorrectposition upon the member, and. a stud extending upwardly from therotating portion of the hopper and adapted to engage said means toreciprocate it intermittently.

2. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a hopperadapted to receive a. quantity of articles in a mixed condition, a chuteleading from the hopper into the machine, a member extending from thechute into the hopper, a portion of the hopper being rotatable toarrange the articles in such position that they become caught upon themember and may slide on the latter into the chute to be fed into themachine, and means located adjacent the point where the articles enterthe chute to remove any articles which may have become caught in anincorrect position upon the member, said means being actuatedintermittently by the rotating portion of the hopper.

3. In a clinch nut press, the combination of a hopper adapted to receivea quantity of clinch nuts in a mixed condition, said hopper beingmounted in an inclined position so that the clinch nuts accumulate inthe lower portion thereof, a chute leading from the hopper into thepress, a rod forming part of the chute and extending into the hopper, arotatable plate forming the bottom wall of the hopper, said plate whenrotated serving to carry the clinch nuts from the lower to the upperportion of the hopper from which they fall downwardly, some of the nutsin so falling becoming caught upon the rod and sliding along the latterinto the chute to be fed into the press, and a reciprocating memberlocated adjacent the point where the nuts enter the chute adapted todislodge from the rod any nuts which may have become caught in anincorrect position thereon, said member being intermittently actuated bythe rotatable plate.

4. In a clinch nut press, the combination of a hopper adapted to receivea quantity of clinch nuts in a mixed condition, said hopper beingmounted in an inclined position so that the clinch nuts collect in thelower portion thereof, a chute leading from the hopper into the press, arod forming part of the chute and extending into the hopper, a rotatableplate forming the bottom wall of the hopper, a plurality of fins securedto the plate, said fins when the plate is rotated serving to carry someof the clinch nuts from the lower to the upper portion of the hopperwhere they fall downwardly away from the fins onto a blade which guidesthem over the top of the rod, some of the clinch nuts becoming caughtupon the rod and sliding along the latter into the chute to be fed intothe press, and an upstanding flange formed on said blade adjacent tosaid rod, said flange serving to assist in causing the clinch nuts tobecome caught upon the rod.

WILLIAM D. CHILTON.

